My present daily life

Monday of the school´s winter holiday here. And me and the kids slept ´till 08.30! Historical new record. We went to sleep at 9.00 pm!

So. That´s just marvellous. And outside the sun is shining from a bright blue sky. We will enjoy this day, I can feel it in me boooonez…!

Yesterday we went skating in Esbjerg, the town on the shore of the mainland. Every winter they make an ice skating “pond” on the city square. A most brill idea. Here, look at this!

The girl in the orange ski pants, is my eldest daughter. The five-yearold, the three-yearold and daddy-o are also out on the ice there somewhere. (As was I, apart from the five minutes I took these photos from the seat at the side).

On the ice, we suddenly met friends of ours. A drummer and his pregnant wife, and their two daughters (7 and 9 years old, I think they are by now). So we ended up going for lunch together, at Sunset Boulevard right next to the square. Here is the view from our lunch table, overlooking the ice:

Yeah… so that was a splendid day out. Valentine´s day actually. I wrote about going to spend it on the ice, in my post from yesterday; http://kaltwasser.dk/valentine/

Other than ice skating, every day life is running rather smoothly for us right now. Still miss our grandmother, who died 30/9 2014. She was the one to share our every day life with us. And she was the one who always came and spent a couple of days with us when we needed a helping hand.

But the children are growing, and it makes everything noticably much more easy. We are over the worst grieving. And we have consciously built bonds with other people who can help us when we need babysitting etc.

We have had influensas lately, coughs and colds and such. But that doesn´t really count as negatives. All in all, we are happy and healthy all five of us. Looking forward to the arrival of our grandchild no.2 this autumn! And looking forward to our Norwegian family coming for a week in the Summer to visit, they have rented three summerhouses, so they will be 15-20 people! I love them for doing that. It really makes living abroad away from them all, a lot easier for me.

Once a month or so, I go to a meeting in my ngos. Well, I´m a member of 3 ngos, so. But in the Music Club I´m only an extra, so I don´t have to go to all their meetings.

The two places where I go to meetings and together with the boards organize events, are:

Kulturelt Samråd;

a council office really, that is in charge of distributing 80.000 Dkr every year, to local people applying for funds for cultural projects and events.
Here are the board members, taken a month ago:

At present, our biggest project of own initiative, is an event we have named “People Meet”. Which will happen in the town hall 17.of April 2 pm – 6 pm this year.

It will consist of an international cake buffet; cakes from many different nationalities who are represented in this island´s population. And then we want there to be folkmusic – and dancing. Local tradition (which is a rich and strong one), plus Syrian music and dancing. Hopefully we will also have a jamsession where we all just play and dance as one group together, freestyle or…. I don´t know yet. I hope the participants will improvize and create magic. (I will be one of them myself, hopefully there will be more participators than bystanders… the idea of spontaneity really excites me. It “opens up” somehow, when everything is not planned into detail, when the happening is more an improvized workshop for all than it is set performances).

Yeah. So please do wish us luck with that! 🙂
We just want to welcome our new Syrian neighbours, collectively and in Fanø fashion. This island has received more Syrians than anywhere else in Denmark (related to its size of population). And we have great success stories from the past, of integrating Bosnians, and Burmese people… On Fanø people look into eachother´s eyes and nod and smile when they meet on the street. Strangers included. And if it is morning, we say good morning to eachother. It is a very good place to be a newcomer, one feels very welcome here. (I myself moved here in 2007 and come from Norway, so I have felt it myself. And my Syrian friends have told me too, how they think it is amazing that even children and teenagers will look them in the eyes and say hello when they cross paths around town here…)

The other ngo where I spend my time and energy, is called

De Utrolige. Meaning The Incredibles.

Inspired by that cartoon movie of that superhero family you know… (Check out and please like our Facebook page for all the information: “Foreningen “De utrolige” på Fanø” is what you write in the search field).

Here we are, the board members, this selfie was taken 4 days ago:

Us, The Incredibles, we want to make an annual day of cultural entertainment, for all the locals to participate in. We have asked the kindergartens and sfo to help make a children´s circus show for the day, and they are happy and eager to take charge of it.

(We had on Fanø an annual circus show made by the school kids, for years on end, but the tradition stopped after 2009 because their house was torn down due to problems with moisture).

So we want to revive that splendid old children´s circus show tradition. And add to it. We want to arrange an international lunch buffet, which Kulturelt Samråd did for the first time in Fanø´s history, for the ngo´s 30.anniversary back in Nov.2013. It was super popular, a great hit.

Apart from circus and buffet, we approach all of Fanø’s many, many different ngos and spare time clubs, and we ask them all to come and do something that day. Like arrange a football tournament, or show us skateboard tricks, one wheel bicycling, dance shows, a baking competition… what ever people can think of. The sky is the limit.

We want “The Day of Diversity” to be a celebration of our local community, embracing all citizens. The more that participate and make themselves a part of the happening stuff, the better. A feeling of collective ownership, is our aim.
The Incredibles want to do the organizing and co ordination of all the practical elements. And help connect; stage builders (we will ask the boyscouts if they would like to take on this task) must be connected to the circus group, maybe we will ask some ngo to stand for sewing circus costumes, and an artist to help decorate the stage… we have a so many rich and competent creative citizens here on Fanø. Truely a wonderful and important resource we have, on this score.

The Music Club will try to find local bands to share short, acoustic sets with us… we need a tent or two…. tables and chairs…. all the logistics. We will plan it and solve it, either by delegating the different concrete jobs, or by doing some of them ourselves.

I DIG this project. I really do. It sparks my soul, to use big words, and why not use them when they exist and feel right?! 🙂

It is an ambitious and all inclusive project. It is integrating, both between individuals, between generations and between all the different ngos and interest groups on the island. It will create a lot of new ties everywhere. And ties, bonds… is the incredible superglue of a good community.

It will help people meet, basically.
Hahaha…
I didn´t mean the cultural event People Meet.

But in general. What we need, in a community, is occasions and opportunities for people to meet.
When everyone is a (half) known entity, then it makes for a really comfortable social feeling.
Fanø already has this feeling. We just want to celebrate it, and as a consequence, the celebration will enhance and strengthen it.

Yeah…

My present daily life… it feels like a present!

🙂

In addition to this voluntary work and my lucky family life, I am building up my “clinic” of vocal sound therapy. I have clients every week. I love that work. Making people feel better, by “singing on them”. Very strange, and strangely effect-full.

And last but not least, I have this blog. Which I am still hoping will make money in the future. I have plans of developing my Youtube channel. Add a vlog. (video blog).

I will stop here.

It has been a weird start of a new year this year. The refugee crises, and the European… failure to react to it in a compassionate way… The death of David Bowie, two days after his amazing new album… other great musicians and actors have crossed over as well… the climate news are not too uplifting, and neither is Danish social politics.

But on the microlevel. Thank Goodness. My life is really enjoyable.

At present. Coz that´s the nature of Life. Count your blessings while you have them. Suddenly new challenges take control and change your direction into a radically new one.

Once we accept this, it is easier to deal with. And let us just grab every positive moment and event that we can, and enjoy it for all that it can give us.

That must be the best piece of advice I ever gave, to myself and to all of us.